Ofsted

College Inspection Report

Ofsted Inspection March 2022

The College received an Outstanding inspection report in its most recent inspection, that took place in March 2022.

The report cited:

‘Staff across the college set very high expectations for what they expect of students in terms of their attitudes to learning and their behaviour. Students respond to these exceptionally well, and their behaviour is exemplary. They are highly respectful of each other and staff. Attendance is consistently high, and students arrive to lessons promptly, focused and ready to learn.’

Key Strengths

· Leaders and managers have a very clear and effective strategy to provide A-level programmes in a safe and nurturing environment that helps almost all students to progress into higher education or higher-level apprenticeships.

· Staff place a high importance on the development of the whole person so that students are very well prepared for their next steps.

· Curriculum leaders and teachers plan the curriculum within subjects very effectively.

· Teachers take care not to overload students. They enable them to master knowledge, technical language and terminology, techniques, and procedures before moving on to more complex work.

· Staff provide very effective support for the small number of students with high needs and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

· Students with high needs make expected or better progress and successfully progress to higher education or higher-level apprenticeships in line with their peers.

· Students make very good progress in acquiring, consolidating, and applying the knowledge and skills that they need to achieve their curricular goals.

· Teachers plan and use assessment very effectively. They use a range of methods to evaluate students’ progress accurately, including highly effective questioning techniques, weekly quizzes, assignments, and mock examinations.

· Teachers provide very helpful feedback to help improve students’ work. They work closely with students, both in groups and individually, to ensure that students have acted on the feedback that they have received and have improved their work.

· Through a range of carefully coordinated activities and support arrangements, staff work highly effectively together to build students’ confidence and resilience and help them to stay physically and mentally healthy.

· Students appreciate being able to participate in mindfulness programmes in which support staff apply techniques in supporting positive mental health effectively.

· Leaders and managers work closely with employers to provide students with opportunities to develop their understanding of the workplace.

· Staff prepare students well for life after Greenhead College. They skilfully raise students’ awareness of the many opportunities available to them through a structured and comprehensive careers programme.

· Leaders and managers have very well-established policies and procedures that they use effectively to keep students safe. They follow their procedures closely and comprehensively to ensure any safeguarding concerns are dealt with effectively.

· Students benefit from an extremely well-developed enrichment programme. All staff, including the principal and deputy principal, run enrichment sessions and share their hobbies and interests with the students, who participate fully and enthusiastically in the sessions.

· Students feel safe at college. They are aware of the risks that they may encounter locally and how these relate to their lives.

· In their tutorials, students learn about university life, student finance and clearance procedures. Students who are not sure what they want to do after college life receive very effective support from staff to consider their options.

No areas of weakness were identified by the inspection team.

To read the report in full please use the link below: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50183488